Studio Bloghttps://studioblog.envato.com
A community of handpicked designers and developers, available just for you.Wed, 22 Jul 2015 14:49:07 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.3New Studio Express Services for VideoHive After Effects templateshttps://studioblog.envato.com/new-studio-express-services-for-videohive-after-effects-templates/
https://studioblog.envato.com/new-studio-express-services-for-videohive-after-effects-templates/#commentsMon, 20 Jul 2015 05:34:16 +0000https://studioblog.envato.com/?p=47575Envato Studio Express Services allow buyers of items from select categories on Envato Market to get their purchase installed or customized quickly, for a set price. The service is delivered by Envato Studio Express Service providers and offered from the purchase confirmation page, downloads page and purchase confirmation email for specific Envato Market item categories. […]

]]>Envato Studio Express Services allow buyers of items from select categories on Envato Market to get their purchase installed or customized quickly, for a set price. The service is delivered by Envato Studio Express Service providers and offered from the purchase confirmation page, downloads page and purchase confirmation email for specific Envato Market item categories.

Starting this week, we’ve expanded the range of Express Customization Services offered on Market to include VideoHive After Effects templates for the first time. The following customization services are being offered for the VideoHive After Effects subcategories below:

How can Market authors get involved?

If you’re interested in becoming a Studio Express Service provider, you need to:

Be an Envato Market author with a positive track record and available items which are relevant to an Express Service.

Be willing to meet Studio Express Service provider requirements such as working on all Express jobs assigned to you (you can choose to opt-out of receiving Express Jobs for all items except your own) and minimum response times (12 hours for first response).

Apply to become a Studio Express Service provider by filling out this form. If selected, you will also be able to create regular services on the site (although this is not a requirement). As such, applications will be reviewed by the Envato Studio team using their regular criteria. It’s important to note that completing this form does not guarantee you will be selected; if you are selected the Envato Studio team will contact you when there is availability.

What’s next?

We’re continuing to look for areas across the Envato Market network where Studio Express Service integration makes sense. As always, we want to hear your thoughts and welcome your feedback in this thread on the Envato Market forums.

]]>https://studioblog.envato.com/new-studio-express-services-for-videohive-after-effects-templates/feed/0Freelance Freedom #379https://studioblog.envato.com/freelance-freedom-379/
https://studioblog.envato.com/freelance-freedom-379/#commentsMon, 20 Jul 2015 05:33:10 +0000https://studioblog.envato.com/?p=47576Freelance Freedom by N.C. Winters is a webcomic about one man trying to make it as a freelancer. View previous episodes.

]]>https://studioblog.envato.com/freelance-freedom-379/feed/0Discoverability and Category Pageshttps://studioblog.envato.com/discoverability-and-category-pages/
https://studioblog.envato.com/discoverability-and-category-pages/#commentsTue, 30 Jun 2015 05:34:37 +0000https://studioblog.envato.com/?p=47530One of the challenges with any marketplace is determining how best to showcase the range of great products or services. For us it’s a balancing act, as we strive to meet three objectives: Make it easy for buyers to find great people to work with. Reward Service Providers who do great work and behave professionally. […]

]]>One of the challenges with any marketplace is determining how best to showcase the range of great products or services. For us it’s a balancing act, as we strive to meet three objectives:

Make it easy for buyers to find great people to work with.

Reward Service Providers who do great work and behave professionally.

Provide opportunities for new Services and Service Providers.

With that in mind, we have started to make some (initially small) changes to how we rank services on category pages. It is important you understand how this works, why we are making the changes, and what you can do to maximise your visibility.

Previously the default order on category pages was Jobs Done (with the Service with the highest number of completed sales at the top). Users could then change the sort order to be ranked by Recommended, Favorited, Newest, HighPrice or LowPrice.

Using Jobs Done as the default sort order was problematic for two reasons.

While the number of Jobs Done is certainly one useful indicator, there is a range of factors equally important in finding an awesome Service Provider – such as quality of work, responsiveness and turnaround times.

It disadvantages new Services or Service Providers and gives them less opportunity to get jobs.

As such, the new default sort order takes into account a range of things, each with various weightings applied. This includes:

Jobs Done: This is certainly still important, but is not the only factor.

Recommendations: Both the volume and percentage of buyer recommendations

Buyerrating – Communication and Quality: This is based on the 5-star rating submitted by your buyers

Turnaroundtime: The buyers’ rating for turnaround time.

Enquiry response rate: Promptly responding to all enquiries is critical, and now plays a very important part in the algorithm. Ignore enquiries at your own risk!

Job acceptance rate: Similarly, we will be penalizing those who constantly reject jobs. A reminder, if you have too many jobs in play, you can always set a job limit.

Disputes: Disputes happen, however we will be taking note of those who frequently end up in dispute or who we feel are not doing the right thing.

Freshness: We will start including new Services too.

Again, the weighting for each of these will vary, and we will likely tweak the algorithm as we strive to meet our three objectives.

So, as a Service Provider, what do you need to do to ensure you appear as high as possible? Put simply, all you need to do is continue to produce great work that delights your clients – taking into account the range of things that buyers expect (eg: responding to enquiries, fast turnaround etc).

]]>https://studioblog.envato.com/discoverability-and-category-pages/feed/14Freelance Freedom #378https://studioblog.envato.com/freelance-freedom-378/
https://studioblog.envato.com/freelance-freedom-378/#commentsTue, 30 Jun 2015 05:16:03 +0000https://studioblog.envato.com/?p=47563Freelance Freedom by N.C. Winters is a webcomic about one man trying to make it as a freelancer. View previous episodes.

]]>https://studioblog.envato.com/freelance-freedom-378/feed/280-20 Freelancinghttps://studioblog.envato.com/8020-principle/
https://studioblog.envato.com/8020-principle/#commentsSun, 28 Jun 2015 10:39:15 +0000http://studioblog.envato.com/?p=45546You may have heard about the Pareto Principle, or the 80-20 rule, before. It holds that 20% of causes result in 80% of outputs, 20% of the work causes 80% of the results, 20% of the clients yield 80% of the profit, and so on. The percentages aren’t exact, of course, but the basic premise […]

]]>You may have heard about the Pareto Principle, or the 80-20 rule, before. It holds that 20% of causes result in 80% of outputs, 20% of the work causes 80% of the results, 20% of the clients yield 80% of the profit, and so on. The percentages aren’t exact, of course, but the basic premise (that a small percentage of what we do yields most of the results) is an incredibly useful analytical tool for your business.

If you want to learn how to apply the 80-20 rule to client liaison, your choice of clients, your prices and the work you do, this article will explain how to do that. 80-20 freelancing could allow you to do less work while making the same amount of money. If you’re lucky (and savvy), you could end up increasing the profitability of your business by doing less and focusing only on what’s important.

Applying 80-20 to clients

Can you find the Pareto Principle in your client base? Let’s say you have three recurring clients each week (the 20%) who pay well. You need to do very little to maintain the relationship: send your work when it’s finished, and that’s it. These three recurring clients are probably worth 80% of your profits.

Consider the other 80% — the one-off clients who email you back and forth negotiating payment, laying out the terms of work, asking you to revise, and so on. Once you finish the job, they’re finished with you.

In this situation, the 80-20 thing to do would be to divert the energy you spend on searching for one-off clients into searching for another weekly, recurring client. Once you’ve done the initial negotiation work you’ll have cut down to 20% of your client base while keeping your profits at 100% of their previous rate.

The way you apply 80-20 to clients will, of course, be different, but the spirit remains the same. Sit down and analyze how you could benefit from applying the 80-20 rule to the clients you take on. What if you stopped searching for one-off, mediocre jobs and focused all your efforts on finding that one, high-paying client?

Applying 80-20 to liaison

The idea here is that 20% of correspondence causes 80% of the results. If you begin to notice a regular pattern to negotiations, short-circuit the process by providing a FAQ to all prospective clients. I.e. How much do you charge for different types of work? How do I pay you? How can I contact you? and so on.

For me, initial client liaison usually looks like this (abridged):

1st email from client: I’m thinking of hiring you for such and such. How much do you charge?

Response: I’d charge $100 for that.

2nd email from client: Would you do it for $80?

Response: Not really, no.

3rd email from client: Mmm… OK. How do I pay you?

Response: Here’s my PayPal address.

4th email from client: Alright, I’ve paid you. Let’s start.

OR, you can skip that part. When a client sends an expression of interest and the job they’ve described is something you’re interested in doing, you can attach a FAQ to your response rather than emailing back and forth a hundred times. A good FAQ could significantly reduce the time you spend on liaison.

Another strategy you can use to cut down liaison time is to post your rates wherever you advertise your availability. This will block off expressions of interest from anyone you wouldn’t seriously consider working for. If you’re like me, 50% of your liaison with prospects will end in “That’s more than I’m willing to pay.” If you’re upfront about your rates you’ll filter out mutually disappointing exchanges.

Applying 80-20 to the work day

The principle as it applies to the work day looks something like this: 20% of the work earns 80% of the money. As a freelance blogger, my 80-20 breakdown (pre-Pareto) looks like this. What’s yours?

If you’re trying to Pareto your work day, the question becomes: what part of the 80 can I eliminate without losing profits, or at least, without losing more profits than I’d gain by re-directing my time into a task in the ’20’ category?

Applying 80-20 to rates

If you doubled your rates, but your prospects dropped by 40%, you’d still be making more money than you were before. Less clients to manage also means more time.

The take-home point

The essence of the 80-20 rule is this: focus on what’s important and eliminate or minimize what isn’t. It’s a simple guiding principle with the potential to super-charge your freelancing business.

]]>https://studioblog.envato.com/8020-principle/feed/0Why Your Business Needs to be Accessible on Mobilehttps://studioblog.envato.com/why-your-business-needs-to-be-accessible-on-mobile/
https://studioblog.envato.com/why-your-business-needs-to-be-accessible-on-mobile/#commentsFri, 19 Jun 2015 04:09:52 +0000https://studioblog.envato.com/?p=47504What Does It Mean to Be Mobile Responsive? Now more than ever websites, services and apps are being accessed on a variety of devices – from personal computers to tablets and smartphones. In order for your business website or app to stay relevant, attract new customers, and to stay competitive, you need to make sure […]

Now more than ever websites, services and apps are being accessed on a variety of devices – from personal computers to tablets and smartphones. In order for your business website or app to stay relevant, attract new customers, and to stay competitive, you need to make sure that it’s accessible on all platforms.

When your pages look great on any type of device, you’ll increase your reach and deliver a far more satisfying experience to your customers – wherever they might be.

“According to Google’s Think Insights on mobile, if a user lands on your mobile website and is frustrated or doesn’t see what they are looking for, there’s a 61% chance they will leave immediately and go to another website (most likely a competitor)”. – Hubspot.

Reasons Why Mobile Is The Way To Go

It’s Where The Sales HappenYou might get people visiting your website, but it’s nothing if that traffic isn’t converting into real sales. By giving people the best user experience possible, regardless of the device they’re using you’re increasing the chance that you’ll convert those users who aren’t in front of a traditional computer. Make it as easy as possible for prospect customers to get the information they’re after or to buy your products and services, quickly and easily. Web users are notoriously impatient – and if they’re out and about and on a mobile or tablet, chances are they’re in even more of a rush!

“According to the date compiled by the Mobile Marketing Association of Asia, of the nearly 7 billion people worldwide, over 5 billion people own a cell phone, whereas just about 4 billion own a toothbrush”. – LinkedIn Pulse

It’s What Google Likes“Google recommends webmasters follow the industry best practice of using responsive web design, namely serving the same HTML for all devices and using only CSS media queries to decide the rendering on each device”. – Google

Google search spiders love responsive websites, it makes their searching, crawling and indexing process much simpler since they have a single URL and the same HTML irrespective of the device.

It’s a Visual TreatSome website plugins out there will automatically scale your site’s content to work on multiple devices, but they’re not perfect and don’t optimally fit all screens – it can look really messy. A responsive design will give you the opportunity to treat the user visually with text that fits and a style that matches your entire brand.

It’s a Better User ExperienceInternet usage from mobile devices is on the rise. By designing a user-friendly, responsive website for you can increase the reach of your brand. Users will have the option to visit your website on any device and they won’t need to pinch and stretch the screen in order to browse your content.

“At the end of 2012, over 50 million Americans owned a tablet and 1 of every 3 minutes spent consuming digital media was on a mobile device. With all of this mobile use, having a website that is responsive is becoming a requirement, not an option”. – Echo Surge

What To Consider When Designing for Web and Mobile

iOS or Android, or both?: Will you be creating a product for a specific platform or do you want it to be responsive on all devices. The programming language will also determine what type of website you will be able to deliver. Some are better suited for functionality and features than others.

Your Audience: Your audience and the market will be an important determining factor when it comes to the design of your business website. If you’re selling a product or service that needs a full-sized screen or mouse to take full advantage of, a responsive design may not be crucial – but if your target audience is millennials, not having a responsive product could be a fatal flaw. Look at your website’s analytics to see how many people are visiting from a mobile device to help inform your decision.

Your Budget: The amount of money you have to spend on the responsive design will also influence the product. Don’t immediately assume that just because you are paying less, you won’t still receive a quality product. Many freelancers on Envato Studio sell services to help you get started at very reasonable prices. But it’s worth investing some time and taking a look at the past work and reviews of a freelancer you’re interested in working with.

Zumzum – Clean & Fresh Homepage Design/Redesign/ Landing PageWith almost 7 years experience in the web design industry, Zumzum specializes in modern and responsive websites. What also sets him apart is his clear client communication. He knows the importance of communicating during the development process so that you can (literally) be on the same page.

]]>https://studioblog.envato.com/why-your-business-needs-to-be-accessible-on-mobile/feed/011 Services to Get Your Site & Business Mobile Readyhttps://studioblog.envato.com/11-services-to-get-your-site-business-mobile-ready/
https://studioblog.envato.com/11-services-to-get-your-site-business-mobile-ready/#commentsTue, 16 Jun 2015 03:09:47 +0000https://studioblog.envato.com/?p=47489We all know that mobile is rapidly becoming the future of the web. More and more internet users globally are accessing sites and services through their mobile device. Facebook recently announced that more than half a billion (526 million) of their members access the site solely through a mobile device. It’s not just staying in […]

]]>We all know that mobile is rapidly becoming the future of the web. More and more internet users globally are accessing sites and services through their mobile device. Facebook recently announced that more than half a billion (526 million) of their members access the site solely through a mobile device. It’s not just staying in touch with friends that people do while out and about, they’re also buying products and services in increasing numbers through their mobile devices. In 2014, PayPal saw 68% growth year on year in payments completed via mobile. To succeed now and especially in the future, you need to offer your customers and visitors a true mobile experience.

It doesn’t have to be hard or expensive. Here are 11 services from Envato Studio providers who can help you make the transition.

]]>https://studioblog.envato.com/11-services-to-get-your-site-business-mobile-ready/feed/0Freelance Freedom #377https://studioblog.envato.com/freelance-freedom-377/
https://studioblog.envato.com/freelance-freedom-377/#commentsMon, 15 Jun 2015 03:58:32 +0000https://studioblog.envato.com/?p=47483Freelance Freedom by N.C. Winters is a webcomic about one man trying to make it as a freelancer. View previous episodes.

]]>https://studioblog.envato.com/freelance-freedom-377/feed/126 Ways to Ruin Your Freelancing Careerhttps://studioblog.envato.com/26-ways-to-ruin-your-freelancing-career/
https://studioblog.envato.com/26-ways-to-ruin-your-freelancing-career/#commentsSun, 14 Jun 2015 10:34:56 +0000http://studioblog.envato.com/?p=45540Freelancing can be a rewarding career, with many benefits over being a salaried employee. But success in freelancing means there are a lot of things you shouldn’t do – things I’ve done over the past twenty years and learned from the hard way. Some of these are relevant to web workers, others to those of […]

]]>Freelancing can be a rewarding career, with many benefits over being a salaried employee. But success in freelancing means there are a lot of things you shouldn’t do – things I’ve done over the past twenty years and learned from the hard way.

Some of these are relevant to web workers, others to those of us that still visit clients on-site.

Are you making your freelance career tougher than it needs to be?

Not defining success.
What does success mean to you? Does it mean being able to work from home and escaping traffic jams or staying away from office politics? Or does it mean earning a lot more, after tax, than someone in a similar salaried position? We all have different reasons for wanting to freelance. Defining your reason makes it easier to believe that freelancing is the right thing for you.

Not budgeting.
Budgeting is crucial when you work for yourself. Freelancing work is often feast or famine, and this can be the single biggest factor pushing you back into a salaried position.

Not distinguishing between need and want.
It’s not easy sticking to a budget when you’re a one-person freelance business. It’s sometimes tough to separate personal and business funds. It’s even tougher to resist the temptation to indulge using business funds. However, the separation of funds is necessary if you’re going to stay sane through tax time.

Not organizing receipts and invoices.
You really want to do this as soon as possible. File them using a system that you feel most comfortable with. I like using large manila envelopes with the month and year written on them, then putting a year’s worth in another envelope, a box, or a filing cabinet folder.

Not keeping a logbook or logfile.
It’s not always easy to recall what a given receipt is for, and if you can’t catalogue it properly, you probably can’t claim it against taxes. If you don’t like scribbling in a day planner, try using a spreadsheet (desktop or web) to add notations for receipts. It makes filing taxes so much easier.

Not having multiple skills.
If you learn just one skill, you’re harder to market. Focus on one main skill, but also build up other skills. Recession happens, but you still need to work, especially if you’re bad at budgeting. If you can’t find work for your main skill, you have something to fall back on.

Not saving.Saving goes beyond budgeting. A freelancer should make saving a key “skill”. The old rule of thumb is to save up 3-6 months of operating expenses – rent, debt payments, food, insurance payments, and other typical monthly operating costs. If you have a family to support, you should consider saving more than six months of operating costs. The reason for this? According to a survey of 3700 freelancers, 43% made less money and worked more since becoming freelancers. On the flip side, if you’re working from home, your day-to-day expenses should be lower, so earning less isn’t necessarily a bad thing – but not saving for the future is.

Not investing.
Put the money you’ve saved into an easily accessible liquid investment with minimal penalties for early withdrawal and optimal interest rates. One option is an online savings account. Investing safely helps you build up that emergency fund sooner. However, you should invest beyond that, for vacations, retirement or even a possible career change later on.

Not reinvesting.Reinvest in your business, skills and knowledge. Reinvestment might include buying advertising, taking courses, or purchasing software and gear in order to offer new services.

Not being pragmatic.
It’s easier to be pragmatic about finding new work when you have funds saved. When you don’t and you’re looking for work, you might come across desperate or needy to the client. The irony is that when you come across casual/ indifferent – without being rude – you’re more likely to win a contract.

Not seeking emotional support.
If you’re already a top industry expert, you probably won’t want for work. But if you’re still building your skills and reputation, the downtimes might get you down. Don’t be afraid to seek a bit of emotional support and TLC.

Not taking a break.
When you freelance, you work for yourself, and time takes on a special significance. It’s not hard to fall into a state of mind where you feel you need to work long hours. The fact is, you cannot be productive for hours on end. Forcing yourself to work doesn’t necessarily get things done faster, and you miss out on the important things in life, such as family, friends, and relaxation. If it makes you feel better, take X hours off as a form of payment for the work you’ve put in.

Charging too little.
If you are working long hours, maybe it’s because you need to, or simply because you’re chargingtoo little. Research your niche to determine what the rates are for various levels of skill, and set a new rate for your work. Charge new clients your new rate. If a former client comes back to you for more work, you can request the new rate as well.

Taking on too much work.
If you’re charging to little, you might be tempted to take on too much work. This is more of a problem when you work at home, because it’s easy to feel you’ll find the necessary hours. Don’t fall into the trap of taking on too much work, or else you could damage your reputation if you don’t deliver.

Not tracking time spent.
If you get paid by the hour, you have to track time. If you get paid by the project, you also have to track time – simply to make sure that you’re not earning less per hour, on average, than you think. If you’re screwing yourself over, you need to raise your rates.

Not asking for deposits on projects.
If you charge by the project, unless you know the client well and they have good track record in paying their account on time, it’s a good idea to ask for a small deposit up front. It’s common to ask for 25-33% at each project milestone (including contract acceptance and work delivery). How much you ask depends on how many phases there are. If something goes wrong, at least you’ll have received some compensation…

Not building negotiating skills.
It’s easier to raise rates for new clients, but occasionally you have to do it for existing clients – possibly the ones who’ve come back to you after an extended duration. Either way, it’s not easy asking for higher rates or for deposits. Negotiating skills also help landing contracts.

Being too proud or too fussy.
Work shouldn’t always be about the money. Consider taking a bit less pay for an interesting, stable, longer-term contract that you think you’ll enjoy. Just make sure to check your state/ federal laws about contract durations and the point at which you’re technically considered an employee.

Not asking for help or clarification.
Even a well-read freelancer doesn’t always know everything about a topic. It’s better to ask for help/ clarification from a client or their employee than to fake knowledge and do work badly. (Just stay away from the employee who thinks you’ve taken the job that they wanted.)

Not remaining neutral.
You’re a freelancer, not an employee. Be attentive in discussions, but don’t take sides in office politics.

Mistaking politeness for friendliness. Freelancing can be a lonely business, but don’t assume that your client’s employees are being anything more than polite.

Not applying the 80/20 rule.
The 80/20 Rule (aka the 70/30 Rule) is also known as the Pareto Principle. It essentially says that 80% of results are due to 20% of causes/ efforts. The rule can be applied in many ways, especially for freelancers. Here are a couple:

20% of your clients will give you 80% of your revenues.

20% of your skills will earn you 80% of your revenues.

You can probably come up with other applications. It doesn’t mean you should ignore the “20%” of something altogether. You never know when your clients or your skills will change their roles within the 80/20 rule.

Not asking for referrals or testimonials.
Here’s how you can apply the last item: Since 20% of your clients will probably give you 80% of your revenues, it makes sense to ask your current clients for more work. Do they have any additional work that needs doing? Or maybe they know another business owner and would be willing to give you a referral? At the least, if they’re happy with your work, they might be willing to provide a testimonial for your website. You have to ask to receive.

No backups.
While not having backups is usually a temporary issue, regularly ignoring the need could have damaging effects on your career. Some suggestions:

Back up client project files regularly.

Have a backup Internet connection, or access to one.

Use a UPS (Universal Power Supply) box in case of power outages.

Not controlling road-rage.
If you do on-site work, you might find yourself in traffic jams from time to time. When you factor in high gas prices, high insurance rates, and the frustration of being stuck in traffic daily, it’s easy to want to vent when some idiot cuts you off. It’s fine to vent if you’re doing it in the privacy of your car – just don’t be too aggressive about it, and especially not within 5 miles of your client’s office. You never know who that idiot might be. Trust me on that one!

]]>https://studioblog.envato.com/26-ways-to-ruin-your-freelancing-career/feed/0Infographic Designers to Help Communicate Your Messagehttps://studioblog.envato.com/infographic-designers-to-help-communicate-your-message/
https://studioblog.envato.com/infographic-designers-to-help-communicate-your-message/#commentsFri, 12 Jun 2015 06:59:09 +0000https://studioblog.envato.com/?p=47475Infographics have been booming in popularity for quite a while now, and there’s good reason for it. Simply put, they make data interesting by bringing the message to life – conveying numbers in a meaningful and contextual way. Infographics are easily shared on social media and are perfect if you’re trying to make a powerful […]

]]>Infographics have been booming in popularity for quite a while now, and there’s good reason for it. Simply put, they make data interesting by bringing the message to life – conveying numbers in a meaningful and contextual way. Infographics are easily shared on social media and are perfect if you’re trying to make a powerful point, quickly. Check out some of the infographics designed by Envato Studio providers below, and click through if any take your fancy!